First Annual Herring Run Festival

Posted on April 14, 2014April 14, 2014 by Dusty Roads

What was that I was saying about missing out on things because they were on the weekend and I worked? A perfect example was this past weekend.

I saw signs the day I drove over to the Grist Mill Pond; “Oliver Mill festival April 11-13”. I’d never heard of the Oliver Mill festival.

I like to take pictures at the Herring Run. There are bridges, stone ruins , a park with picnic tables and of course the fish ladder. There’s usually gulls and birds and often a Great Blue Heron for photo subjects.

Last year was a bit harder for photos than previous years because it was very crowded with people fishing and trying to kayak. All the human activity drove away some of the wildlife so I spent less time there and more time checking out alternate locations.

But back to the festival. Another photographer I know attended on Saturday.

http://photobee1.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-first-annual-middleborough.html?spref=fb

I was going to take a run down there in the morning Sunday only to find out it didn’t start until 11 am. I’d just have time to get there and have to turn around and come home to work. So I did the next best thing…I looked it up on the internet.

I found this little blip:

MIDDLEBOROUGH — This old town’s first big push to draw in tourists will be launched this weekend with a three-day party to celebrate a centuries-old annual phenomenon.

Organizers expect thousands to gather for the First Annual Herring Run Festival, based primarily at Oliver Mill Park on Route 44 but with other activities planned all over town.

Crowds of alewife and blueback herring, as they do every spring, are already making their way up the Nemasket River, adjacent to the park and considered the largest herring run in the state.

Last year, more than 850,000 herring made the trek to the 5,000 acres of spawning and nursery habitat in the river’s upper reaches where they lay eggs before returning to salt water.

That explains why I’d never heard of it before, this is the first year. Maybe next year I’ll be on that Mon- Fri schedule and able to attend for myself.

For really interesting comments and great photos check out : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Photo-Bee-1-Photographing-the-Natural-World-Around-Us/191608700932223

SUPERVOLCANO and The Mis-information Superhighway

Posted on April 12, 2014April 12, 2014 by Dusty Roads

You saw it on YouTube, then Turner Networks and even the local newspapers. Bison are fleeing Yellowstone National Park. Earthquakes are “unzipping” the super volcano caldera!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMSPrHXvyws

Is a mega disaster imminent?

Not likely says Park Spokesman Dan Hottle. The bison are actually running toward the interior of Yellowstone right toward the ancient 55 X 18 mile magma chamber, the location of the past super volcano explosions.

The Video originally posted on March 20 and sparked stories as far away as Australia. Mainstream news outlets picked up the story and the video went viral. By now more than 700,000 people (make that 700,001) have viewed the alleged bison exodus.

When news of Sunday’s 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit the airwaves, Turner Radio Network broadcast ” It appears the super volcano is unzipping !” The earthquake, which was the largest in 34 years, was actually centered north of the caldera boundary. It was generated by a system of fault lines, not magma.

Yellowstone has thousands of tremors every year. How could it not with geysers exploding and mud flats bubbling. There have been more than 250 tremors in just the past month. It is business as usual for the geothermal area.

But just in case the bison are trying to commit a mass suicide Spokesperson Hottle says he’s ready. “I’ve got my tent packed and a couple of bags of microwave popcorn. I’ll be ready!”

Just goes to show you can’t believe everything you see on the internet.

Oh one last comment for our Russian friends…Old Faithful will not burn down. 🙂

( Last year there was a 2 tree fire 8 miles south of Old Faithful. A Russian television station called asking if Old Faithful was going to burn down. )

All is Not Calm

Posted on April 11, 2014April 11, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Ahhh Springtime at the Pond. Not so peaceful really. The mating rituals seem to lead to a lot of grumpy behavior or maybe it’s the cold, rainy spring after the long winter.

Bring on the grumpiness!

The Canada Geese are especially temperamental.

They always seem to be rather grumpy anyway but this time of year the grumpiness goes up dramatically.

They don’t seem to get along whether on land or water.

Finally a Moment with Nature

Posted on April 10, 2014April 10, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Spring has been a long time coming this year. If it wasn’t snowing it was raining but finally on Monday, we had a brief respite.

As usual lately my days off are filled with errands. When did that happen? I needed to run to the grocery store, down to Walmat (which is the opposite side of town) and then in another direction to the pet store for filters for the pet fountain but I was determined to get some time with the camera. No cat picture today!

The sun was hiding behind a gray, overcast sky. Rain was predicted for the evening. My first stop was at Oliver Mills. It was crowded today. The herring have started running. You could stand by the fish ladder and see the little fish trying to make their way upstream. A few gulls braved the influx of humans but no Great Blue Herons. I watched from the car for a bit so when the gulls took flight, so did I.

I drove to Plymouth to check on a Osprey nest I found at the end of the season last year. When I got there I discovered that I couldn’t find my binoculars. The last time I had them (that I remember) was in Alaska. This nest is near a park and it was full today too so I didn’t linger there.

Getting to the Grist Mill Pond was a challenge. The main road was blocked for a funeral so I tackled the shore road down past the Mayflower.

That’s undergoing road work but passable. I skipped Brewster Gardens. Nothing appeared to be out and about, not even a duck or robin. But that wasn’t the case at the pond.

Here spring was in full swing with lots of courtship rituals going on…mallards, Canada geese, and Mr. Majestic, the mute swan.

After enjoying the antics here I made one more stop. I went searching for the “haul out” that I’d heard about for the seals. Usually I go to Chatham to view seals. Plymouth is closer but the seals aren’t necessarily any more accessible. I wasn’t sure I’d found them. Without binoculars I simple took pictures and crossed my fingers.

Once home I uploaded the images and sure enough…they were there. Next time I’m taking the BIG lens.

Photo of The Week – 14

Posted on April 9, 2014April 9, 2014 by Dusty Roads

The visits to dustyroadsphotos.com seemed to fall off this week.

The winning photo only got a total of 23 combined points. Comments were definitely off as none were left at all! Now I know everyone has an opinion. Comments are fun. 🙂 And they count toward your favorite photo. Maybe my photos weren’t “up to snuff” this week or maybe my tags weren’t descriptive enough, or maybe everyone got spring fever and ran outside to take their own pictures. Whatever the case, I hope you’ll help pick the winner this week by giving us a visit.

The week 14 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is It Fits with a total of 23 points.

Votes calculated from activity at www.dustyroadsphotos.com.